Vidhya CK

"The Reserve Bank should lower interest rates tomorrow and if they don't, the Treasurer should use his existing powers to bring down interest rates and relieve pressure on mortgage holders," Greens demanded.

Woolworths had announced its plan to invest NZ$400 million (AU$367 million) to rebrand nearly 200 stores over the next three years. However, the company's New Zealand profit had dropped by 57% to AU$108 million in the 12 months to June 30, compared to last year.

As Sydney geared up to host NRL and AFL finals and the Bledisloe Cup rugby union fixture during the weekend, NSW Transport Minister Jo Haylen announced free services, including the metro, on Saturday and Sunday.

The reform was expected to improve the retirement benefits of 180,000 Australian families each year, according to Minister for Social Services Amanda Rishworth.

Earlier this year, China had removed trade tariffs on wine and barley after Australia dropped World Trade Organization complaints against Beijing over the two products.

Addressing tens of thousands of trade workers in Melbourne, Electrical Trades Union's Victorian secretary Troy Gray said the Labor government was targeting the construction workers and risking 100 years of the union's achievements.

Other than Australia, the new rules will be applicable to people in the U.S., the U.K. and Canada, as pressue increases for social media platforms to enhance user safety.

The state has also set a target of installing one million households and businesses with solar panels on the roof and a battery by 2035, and increasing the number to 1.5 million by 2050.

The health sector reported the highest number of data breaches with 19%, followed by the Australian government with 12%. Finance, education and retail were the other three sectors that reported the highest number of data breach cases.

With more than 20% of the global hydrogen projects announced in Australia, and AU$200 billion worth projects in the pipeline, the country is expected to be a global leader in the green hydrogen sector.

Under the new draft, the role of Australian Financial Complaints Authority has been expanded, giving access to victims to seek compensation from the digital platform, telco, or the bank.

Following a significant deal with the opposition, the Labor government's reform package was expected to help the elderly remain in their homes for a longer period, besides enhancing the quality of aged care facilities.

The bill also grants additional power to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) with information-gathering, record-keeping, code registration and setting standards.

While Europeans had the option to refuse to give consent to their data being used under privacy laws, Meta had not extended the option to Australians.

"Conditions in the labour market have eased since late 2022, but our assessment is that the labor market is still tight relative to full employment. We expect the demand for labour to grow at a slower pace relative to the supply of labour in the coming quarters, gradually bringing the labour market into better balance. Our view is that some of this slowing in labour demand is likely to occur via a decline in average hours," said Sarah Hunter.

While the Westpac–Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index dipped by 0.5% to 84.6 in September from 85.0 in August, the NAB business confidence survey was down to -4 index points in August.

APRA recommended the transition to a simpler capital framework from Jan. 1, 2027, with all current AT1 bonds expected to be replaced by 2032. As of June 2023, Australian banks have a total of AU$40 billion worth of Additional Tier 1 (AT1) capital still outstanding.

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said undisclosed financial arrangements were deceptive and asked for a ban on strata insurance commissions, which were adding to insurance costs.

The University of Sydney and University of Melbourne will have to slash their intake by 7%, limiting the students to 11,900 and 9,300, respectively. Overseas students account for more than 40% in both the universities.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese distanced himself from Swan's comments in the media, saying that both RBA and his government worked to lower inflation. "They are in charge of monetary policy, we are in charge of fiscal policy ... The fight against inflation is one we are all engaged with," he said.

Lending by first-time home buyers increased by 0.8% in July, and was 19.7% higher compared to July 2023. July also recorded a national average of new owner-occupier loans and new investor loans at AU$641,000.

"Australians want stronger protections on AI, we've heard that, we've listened. From today, we're starting to put those protections in place," said Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic as he unveiled a paper with 10 new voluntary guidelines on AI systems.

Founded in 2015, AirTrunk is the largest data center group in Asia Pacific, with 11 sites across Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Meta's regional director of policy, Mia Garlick, stated that the News Media Bargaining Code, which pertained to publishing news content, was "unworkable" as it was not "reflective of the economic realities of news on our services."

The June quarter was driven by increased spending by the government and foreign students, while household consumption took a beat due to high inflation and interest rates. Consumer spending, which declined to 0.2% in the June quarter, was the lowest since the global recession.

As per data by home affairs department, 2,236 applications for a subclass 866 onshore protection visa were made, with 176 from the "Palestinian Authority" in July.

Last week, the Victorian government introduced a bill in Parliament to impose a 7.5% tax on revenue from short-term stays booked for less than 28 days through platforms like Airbnb and Stayz, starting from Jan. 1.

Based on the revised proposal, instead of setting up an independent watchdog with the power to approve or block projects when it is implemented from July 1 next year, the EPA's decision-making authority will rest with the environment minister.

The grocer announced that it will use the funds from the sale to acquire 35% stake in PFD Food Services.